Cowboy Bebop had the eleventh episode, 'Toys in the Attic', set entirely within the Bebop, their own spaceship.

Also, a bottle episode may or may not involve a Minimalist Cast. 'Die Hard' on an X, though limiting the episode to one location, rarely fits this trope, since the other elements of that trope often negate the budget-saving aspects of a Bottle Episode. Sometimes an episode which is a Period Piece may look fancy and expensive, but these are often using the studio's already-existing (thus free) costumes and sets.

Some plots lend themselves to the nature of a Bottle Episode, such as Sinking Ship Scenario, 'Groundhog Day' Loop, Locked in a Room, or Episode on a Plane. One advantage of a bottle episode is that it comes equipped with its own reason for why the characters need to stay together and communicate, an essential part of screenwriting. Depending on the writer, how well the premise works out, and the quality of the acting, bottle episodes can range from terrible to some of the best-received. Due to limitations in locations and cast, the writers have to lean heavily on inventive situations and dialogue to carry the show. Sometimes single-location episodes are written as a Self-Imposed Challenge by the writers, and might ironically cost more than a standard episode if the one location is new and/or elaborate.īottle episodes often place a higher burden on the writers than a normal episode. The Star Trek cast and crew call this a 'ship-in-a-bottle' episode, which is where the name originated. All that matters is that it costs less, because the money is having to pass through a 'bottleneck'. The term has become synonymous with 'single-location' episode, even though bottle episodes can (theoretically) have as many locations as a normal episode. Of course, all this doesn't mean the episode will be cheap, just that it's meant to be like any regular episode, unforeseen complications can cause the show to run over the scheduled budget. Bottle episodes are often a chance for a slow, characterization-filled episode before/after a big special-effects-laden action episode.

This keeps production costs down, because no-one needs to scout locations, build new sets, or create fancy CGI graphics of the outside of the spaceship. The easiest way to go about this is to use only the regular cast (or even just part of the regular cast) and set it in a single location, especially if you have a main standing set. Feb.A 'bottle episode' is designed to take up as little money as possible. The pair also enlisted Liam Stewart (percussion), a touring musician who’s powerhouse rhythmic presence compliments the pair’s vision-emphasizing raw energy and emotion over meticulous composition to create a singular cathartic experience.Ĥ. Caulfield was drawn to Fair’s aspirations to write beyond genre, while Fair was instantly taken with the singer’s magnetic stage presence and harsh, visceral vocals delivered in her native French. Valentine Caulfield (vocals/lyrics) and Scott Fair (guitar/production) met a couple of years ago when their respective previous bands shared a bill. The camera becomes as much the subject of the video as the people and locations.” A key element of the track is movement and finding interesting ways for the camera to move was an idea we thought was worth exploring. The shoot was all very improvised, with extras fighting over a camera, launching it in the air, smashing it on the ground, attaching it to a drill. He was much more interested in camera techniques than in any kind of narrative or typical music video ideas. After talking with the band, and seeing their previous DIY approach to visuals, we decided to create visuals that matched the track’s chaotic energy by physically putting a camera through torment” said Max.Įlaborating on this further, the band said “Max’s ideas really intrigued us. “When I heard ‘Bottle Episode’ for the first time, the driving drum beat immediately spawned dizzying, restless visuals. Directed by Max McLachlan, the frenetic chaos of the video matches the music’s unpredictability.

UK band Mandy, Indiana have shared a video for “Bottle Episode,” the lead single from their debut EP, ‘…’, which is out digitally November 19th via Fire Talk Records.